Howdy, VideoAsk community! My name is Andrew, and Iām the Senior Technical Support Advocate at VideoAskĀ
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I love VideoAsk, coding, APIs, and ā of course ā long walks on the beachĀ Ā This is my first āofficialā post in the community, and Iām thrilled to start creating even more technical-focused content that opens your eyes to the boundless possibilities of VideoAsk.
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Iām kicking offĀ with a topic that has touched all of our lives at some point over the past two years: working from homeĀ
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The Problem
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58% of the U.S. workforce say they can work remotely at least part of the time, according to research by McKinsey. Remote working was popularized during the pandemic and has countless benefits ranging from flexibility to cost savings. But one of its drawbacks is reduced face-to-face interaction between employees.Ā
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In some ways, remote work doesnāt offer the same level of spontaneity and human connection as an office. Thereās no grabbing a quick bite to eat or getting drinks on a Friday. This reduced social interaction can, at times, feel isolating.
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The Solution
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As a remote employee myself, I knew there had to be a solution. I asked questions like:
- How can we infuse more laughter into our virtual workplace?
- How can we learn more about our teammates on a personal level?
- How can we nurture stronger relationships with each other?
Then it dawned on me. Letās use our own technology: VideoAsk!
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We developed a workflow that:
- Generates an icebreaker question
- Converts that question into a videoask
- Automatically sends the videoask to our team via Slack every Friday
Some of the past questions our team have answered include: āIf you could only keep one possession, what would it be?ā and āWould you rather be stuck in an elevator or a ski lift?āĀ
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Fridays are the best day of the week because watching each otherās answers elicits so much joy and entertainment Ā These icebreakers spark thought-provoking discussions, and the visual medium through which we communicate fosters a deeper human connection.
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The magic behind this workflow is that it runs entirely on autopilot. After the initial setup, you never have to think about it again. So whether youāre out sick or sipping piƱa coladas in FijiĀ Ā your team will always have a weekly icebreaker to answer until you run out of questions.
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Example
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Hereās a taste of what the weekly experience looks like for our team. Youāll see both the videoask itself, where we record our answers, and the embedded inbox, where we can see each otherās responses.
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Ā Try it out for yourself and feel free to answer the question!Ā
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š¹ Now see how the responses appear in the shareable inbox:
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āĀ If you decide to answer the videoask, your response will appear in thisĀ list
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How to automatically generate a team-building videoask every week
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Before jumping into the tutorial, letās highlight the no-code tech stack we use to bring this vision to life!
- VideoAsk: Youāll need to be on the Grow plan or higher so you can use our API.
- Make: This tool is the oxygen of our workflow! Alternatively, if youāre a developer who wants greater control, you can use your own server.
- GIPHY: Because life would be pretty boring without GIFs (...or is it āJIFsā?)
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Ā Hereās how itās put together:
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Ā TIP:Ā Download this Scenario template so you donāt have to manually recreate the workflow!Ā Hereās a tutorial on how to import the template into Make.
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Ā Resources:
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Conclusion
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Congrats!Ā Now you know how to combine the power of VideoAsk and Make to engage your remote team in a fun, spontaneous way.
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Ā Hereās an example ofĀ how you can apply this automated framework to other business use cases:
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If you run an eCommerce storeĀ you might want to capture video testimonials becauseĀ they can ultimately boost revenue. Without lifting a finger, you could use VideoAsk to launch a giveaway every Friday.
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Customers who placed an order that week would receive an email with a videoask link where they can record a testimonial. On Monday morning, one customer who shared their testimonial would be randomly selected to win aĀ gift card for your store. Itās a win-win!Ā
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If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to see more of these technical guides, let us know in the comments belowĀ Ā Feel free to share any ideas you have for future community posts, too!
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And remember: If you can dream it, you can do it! Until next timeā¦